Zombie participants are asked to bring canned food donations for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank or a cash donation for the Lynchburg Dog Park as the “unofficial entrance fee,” said Patrick Hubble, the principal organizer and founder of Lynchburg Zombie Walk.

“The heart of it is that it’s a canned food drive,” Hubble stated.

Hubble said that in previous years they have had hundreds of cans that they contributed to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

With cash donations to the Lynchburg Dog Park, Hubble stated, “It’s always been [that] several hundred dollars [goes] to the dog park, and that helps maintain that little park. It’s just one way to give back to the community.”

Hubble expressed that, other than fundraising and entertainment, the event is also to help young people to think about how they can be charitable.

“Primarily, it’s for the younger crowd, teens and early 20s, and it gets them thinking charitably and have some fun at the same time. It’s just mainly to help local citizens that are in need and enjoy ourselves a little bit while we’re at it.”

The Zombie Walk organizers will begin collecting canned food and cash donations at 5 p.m. in the parking lot of the Community Market, according to the event’s Facebook page. There will be a brain (cake) eating contest at 5:30 p.m. and the Zombie Walk down Main Street at 5:45 p.m.

Judges will give prizes to the “most authentic” zombies for both children and adults, according to the event’s Facebook page. Adults will be given prizes for first place through fifth place. Children will be given prizes for first, second and third place.

Hubble stated that two of the most memorable zombies they’ve had so far were the zombies of Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth.

The Zombie Walk After Party will begin at 8 p.m. at Kegney Brothers, where zombie participants can watch the original “Night of the Living Dead.”

Hubble said he hoped he and those at Kegney Brothers could come up with a drink special for the event, perhaps “something with a finger in it.”

The annual Zombie Walk may not be well known on the Lynchburg College campus. All of the students interviewed about the event except one said they had not heard of the Zombie Walk.

“I might look into it now that I know what it is. I never knew what it was,” said senior Matt Lamplugh.

Grad student Sarah Buwalda and senior Jordan Huffman also expressed interest in participating in the event this year or in the future once they knew of the event.

“Attaching charity events to things like that is a great idea, I think,” Hoffman expressed.

Grad student Beth Wehr said that she would be interested in the event in the future when she’s not as busy with school work.

“I’ve had friends that participated in the past and they’re really into the makeup and the costumes. They’ve had a lot of fun,” said Wehr.

Hubble is a local funeral director and mortician at Tharp Funeral Home.

“I’ve always enjoyed the horror genre. I’m a bit of a B-horror movie fan,” Hubble said. “I thought it was fun to play on the irony that I’m an actual funeral director and put something like this on. Also it plays on the irony too that zombies are wandering around looking for food. So this way, the zombies that come are actually bringing food to feed others.”

Hubble stated that the event is rain or shine and that pets are allowed at the event as long as pet owners observe city ordinances.

The Lynchburg Community Market is located at 1219 Main Street in downtown Lynchburg.

Kegney Brothers is located at 1118 Main Street in downtown Lynchburg. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Monday from 3:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Those interested in attending the Zombie Walk can find more information online at the event’s Facebook page.